Chinese college’s ‘ crayfish degree’ cooks up debate

Students feeling the pinch to declare a major look no further: A vocational school in Hubei Province is now off ering the country’s first degree in “crayfish studies” to train students in an important local industry.

Jianghan Art Vocational College’s “School of Crawfish” in Qianjiang has so far enrolled 86 students for three crawfish- related courses, the Beijing News reported Wednesday.

Starting September 1, the two- year programs promise coursework in crawfish farming, cooking, marketing and catering management, as well as job placement.

“The crawfi sh industry is ... worth billions of yuan, but we are yet to see an institution specializing in training,” Xia Zhongzhi, a recruitment offi cer at the college, told the paper.

The major didn’t seem to make the grade among netizens. “The students will soon regret their decision,” wrote Sina Weibo user “minzhugg.”

The sentiment was echoed by Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the National Institute of Education Sciences. “We need to evaluate carefully whether it’s necessary for the industry before creating a new major,” Chu told the newspaper.

Valued at 146.6 billion yuan ($ 21.58 billion), the industry employs over 5 million people, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture released in June, Caixin reported.